Ex-Reds flyer Jason McAteer on
the lure of Legends football and
the cause closest to his heart
How excited are you about playing for the Legends again?
I love it, it’s one of the highlights of the year for me. I love the
fact that we put a game on every year, in fact two or three
every year. We’ve made a bit of a circuit with the Legends
matches, with the likes of Milan and Bayern Munich and Real
Madrid [all at Anfield] and Borussia Dortmund [in Hong Kong].
We’ve played all those teams over the last four or five years
and made a phenomenal amount of money for great causes
which has been put back into different charities and initiatives,
which is what it is all about.
The flip-side of it is we get a fix of playing football again for
this fantastic club. We get to put the shirt on, get together with
old friends, reminisce, catch up, and then ultimately get on the
grass again. For the head, it’s amazing. For the body, it’s the
worst thing you can possibly do when you’re 48!
How is your fitness at the moment?
I still run, I get out and play golf and try to eat relatively healthy,
although it’s quite difficult with young kids. You always finish off
the McDonald’s, nuggets and biscuits that are left over!
I’m relatively fit. It’s more a case of the body holding up. I
played in a charity game in Singapore and ended up tearing
my plantar fascia ligament [on the sole of the foot] which was
really sore. But straightaway I was seeing a club doctor and
then a club surgeon and they were looking after my health, so it
speaks volumes for the club that they supply that support when
any of the players are injured, it is amazing.
At the moment it takes me a good hour to get up in the
morning and get going, but once I’m up straight I’m all right!
When you left Liverpool for Blackburn Rovers in 1999 you
must have thought your days of wearing red in front of the
Kop were over...
Playing at Anfield again for the first time was a special moment.
For me, getting older, obviously you can’t go on forever. At the
back of my mind, I’m always thinking is this the last time?
Interview: Harri Aston
“I DON’T KNOW WHAT
IT IS – THE HISTORY
OF THE CLUB, THE
LEGACY, JUST THE
THINGS WE SHARED
AS PLAYERS – BUT
THERE IS NO OTHER
CLUB LIKE IT”